Where'd You Get Those?: New York City's Sneaker Culture: 1960-1987

by Bobbito Garcia

Finally in paperback! This critically acclaimed, best-selling insider's account of New York's sneaker culture chronicles the rise of the mighty gym shoe, with the bulk of the book examining nearly 400 models released during the golden years of 1970-1987. Bobbito Garcia, a DJ, a VIBE columnist and the host of ESPN2's "It's the Shoes," describes how a small and dedicated group of consumers in the 1970s and early 80s were instrumental in creating the trends that have made athletic shoes ubiquitous today and in establishing current corporate giants like Nike and Adidas. Information-packed entries for each model include available color combinations, athletic endorsements and often hilarious running commentary and stories from a rogues' gallery of fanatics who weigh in on the pros and cons of each shoe. It's all here, fully illustrated with almost 500 everything you ever wanted to know about the production, distribution and consumption of sneakers in New York City during the seminal years that set the stage for their worldwide dominance.

Genres: Fashion, Nonfiction, Hip Hop

264 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 1899

Reviews

[Mare · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bible. Before all the sneaker blogs, resellers, and retros, this was how we connected to the culture.

[Greg Vernick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The King James Bible of sneaker culture.

[Dustin Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential sneaker reading.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sneakerheads rejoice, if you love sneakers, then read this book. It is written by Bobbito Garcia who has been a figure in and around New York City and its urban culture since his youth. The book mixes pictures of old sneakers of all brands with stories revolving around Harlem and Basketball. I loved this book because it combined two things i love, basektball and sneakers, for me, I don't think it gets much better than that.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though B. Garcia disses on the silver/red Vandal Supremes this book is essential to sneaker culture. I remember working at Powell's City of Books and flipping out over this the day it came out & you know what? My enthusiasm is the same as day one!

[Sean Daley · Rating 5 out of 5]

first off, i like coffee table books a whole lot. i also like sneakers a whole lot. that being said, the way this book is written its like an autobiography told through sneakers, written by people who truly love sneakers and i think it translates to those who dont necessarily care about shoes

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was not written for rich white collegiates obsessed with sneakers. oh well. i still love it and bobbito.

[Mario Hoffmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best for Sneakerheads.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basketball, NYC, Hip Hop, amazing photos, great writing - a gem.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

MAD KICKS!!!